Welcome to Allergy and Immunology
Our Allergy and Immunology Center is one of the largest of its kind, featuring more clinic rooms and food/drug challenge space than any facility in the region. The Center is dedicated solely to the management of pediatric patients with allergic and immunologic diseases.
Leadership
Dan Atkins, MD, a graduate of the University of Texas Medical School, completed his Pediatrics residency and a fellowship in Ambulatory Pediatrics with the University of Texas at Houston/Memorial Hermann Hospital Program. His first Allergy and Immunology fellowship was with the University of Buffalo/Children’s Hospital of Buffalo and his second with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health. A Department of Pediatrics faculty member since 1994, Atkins served concurrently at National Jewish Medical and Research Center and the University of Colorado through 2014. He was named Gastrointestinal Eosinophilic Diseases Program co-director at The Children’s Hospital in 2007 and served as Section Head of Allergy and Immunology from 2014–2018.
David Fleischer, MD, is a graduate of Emory University School of Medicine. He completed his Pediatrics residency and Pediatric Allergy and Immunology fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine program. As Section Head of Allergy and Immunology since 2018, he guided development and now directs the Allergy and Immunology Center at Children’s Hospital Colorado, site of one of the world’s largest food challenge and research programs.
Our pediatric allergy and immunology specialists believe the best way to improve quality of life for young patients is a multidisciplinary approach to the management of allergies and immune disorders. Our outpatient, emergency and inpatient services at Children's Hospital Colorado include a variety of pediatric subspecialists, strengthening our ability to provide a full spectrum of care.
Allergy and Immunology at Children's Colorado provides both ambulatory and inpatient consultation services for children with all forms of allergic disease, including nasal allergy, asthma, food allergies, drug allergies, insect sting allergy, eczema, and immune deficiency disorders.
Together with the Digestive Health Institute at Children’s Colorado, clinics in eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EoE) are held at Children's Colorado.
In collaboration with Infectious Diseases at Children's Colorado and the Department of Otolaryngology, the section staffs a multidisciplinary Sinus Clinic.
The University of Colorado School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics offers an ACGME-accredited fellowship in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at Children's Hospital Colorado, and a separate fellowship at National Jewish Health.
An elective in pediatric immunology and allergy is available for fourth-year medical students who have successfully completed a pediatric clerkship.
It’s
estimated that about one in 10 children in the United States has a food allergy. Of those, 40% have reported experiencing a severe allergic reaction. The Food Challenge and Research Unit at Children’s Hospital Colorado, directed by Matthew Greenhawt, MD, MBA, MSc, works with families across a seven-state referral area, as well as nationally, to help accurately diagnose and treat those with food allergy.
The multidisciplinary team approach integrates diagnostic testing, the most advanced food challenge services in the U.S., and dietary and psychological support. For some patients, a clinical or research protocol to treat food allergy is included.
Dr. Greenhawt states, “Historically, there has not been a therapy to treat food allergies. Here at Children’s, we have options available that enable patients to tolerate more allergen before reacting, and to reduce the severity of any reaction that may still result. By offering clinical programs as well as opportunities to participate in research studies to treat food allergy, we enable families to choose an option that meets their needs.”
Section of Allergy and Immunology investigators, physicians, and clinical staff have contributed significantly to multiple research studies, interventions, and the development of U.S. and international policy guidelines.
The
Gastrointestinal Eosinophilic Diseases Program (GEDP) at Colorado Children’s Hospital is a clear example of the Section of Allergy and Immunology’s collaboration with other Department of Pediatrics Sections. Directed by Glenn Furuta, MD (pictured), with Dan Atkins, MD as co-director, this
multidisciplinary program cares for children with digestive issues caused by eosinophils, a type of white blood cell frequently linked to allergies. The inflammation that occurs when these cells build up in the digestive system lining can cause severe
abdominal pain, delayed growth, swallowing issues, and other life-altering symptoms.
Furuta, a principal investigator in eosinophilic studies since the mid-1990s, joined Atkins as Director of The Children’s Hospital Gastrointestinal Eosinophilic Diseases Program in 2007. It remains the region’s only dedicated pediatric program of its kind and serves as a national/international resource.
The Department of Pediatrics Section of Allergy and Immunology was established in 2014.
The Department offered an accredited fellowship in Allergy and Immunology two years after its founding, with the first fellows accepted in 2016.